Biggest Storylines For Seattle Seahawks Entering 2024 Season

With a first-time head coach and first-time offensive coordinator, the Seahawks new coaching staff will be tested early heading into a new campaign.

Among their most pressing questions, the Seahawks will have to wait and see on the health of Abraham Lucas and Jerome Baker. /

After months of anticipation, the Seattle Seahawks will open their first training camp practice under the direction of new coach Mike Macdonald on July 24 with plenty of buzz surrounding the franchise entering a new era.

Looking towards the 2024 season, what are the biggest storylines surrounding the Seahawks heading into training camp? Our writing staff picked out one storyline apiece that could define whether or not the upcoming season is a successful one in the Pacific Northwest:

As has been the case for most of the past decade, the Seahawks struggled to protect Smith or create running lanes for a talented running back group in 2023, though injuries were a major factor, including tackle Abraham Lucas missing all but six games with a knee issue. The team hopes to have Lucas back fully healthy after offseason surgery across from fellow third-year starter Charles Cross, but his status remains up in the air opening camp on the PUP list after missing the entire offseason program recovering. Set to break in three new starters in the interior, veteran Laken Tomlinson will have to show he still has good football left in the tank and center Olu Oluwatimi and whoever starts at right guard after a competition between Christian Haynes, Anthony Bradford, and McClendon Curtis will have to grow up quickly or a talented skill position group will be wasted again. -Corbin Smith

Defensive Scheme Overhaul Under Mike Macdonald

Obviously, a head coaching change is the trump card of storylines, especially when replacing a legend like Pete Carroll. To be specific, Macdonald is expected to improve this Seahawks defense substantially from the jump, which has been in the bottom quarter of the NFL the last two years and been especially poor stopping the run. Seattle hasn't had an above average total defense since 2017, which feels like a lifetime ago, especially considering the dominance of the "Legion of Boom" era before the drought. After transforming the Ravens into the top scoring defense, Macdonald has a blank canvas to work with on the easel. It will be fun to see how he paints. -Nick Lee

Fixing Run Defense Woes

After allowing the second-most rushing yards in the NFL in 2023 (2,352), Seattle must improve in that area if it hopes to even be a middle of the pack defense this season. In theory, it should be better with the added depth on the interior defensive line and a healthy Uchenna Nwosu on the edge. The Seahawks allowed two more yards per carry to running backs after Nwosu’s season-ending injury in Week 7. The additions of rookie first-round pick Byron Murphy II and free agent veteran Johnathan Hankins are a plus. The inside linebackers, however, remain a question, as free agent signings Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson will have their work cut out for them defending the second level. The hope, of course, is some pressure will be alleviated there with an improved front line. -Connor Benintendi

Ryan Grubb's Readiness as a First-Time NFL Play Caller

The Seahawks have an interesting situation on their hands after spending the offseason reformatting their coaching staff with coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. The former has shown that his defense works in the NFL, but the latter doesn't have any experience in the league. After a tremendous season at Washington leading Washington to the National Championship game, Grubb initially followed Kalen DeBoer to Alabama before answering the call in Seattle. His scheme did a tremendous job of creating and manipulating space at the college level and his creativity was lauded by experts. While he showed success at the highest level in the NCAA, will that scheme thrive in the NFL? Spacing is significantly tighter in with narrow hashmarks and that could hinder the creativity he has. The majority of the industry believes that he will thrive, but it's a variable that fans should keep in the back of their head over the course of the season. -Tyler Forness

Check out key storylines for all 32 NFL teams via Sports Illustrated team reporters here.